This was the second year that I did this 5:30 run and there are a lot of improvements this year, especially in regards to the t-shirt and medal (which is awesome).

The medal is really unique and provided by virtual running. I really like that you can rotate the sun to represent sunrise and sunset. It’s not a feature you really ever see on a race medal.

I really enjoyed the fresh fruit provided at the end. It was all of high quality and a nice way to finish an early morning run.

The marshals were really energetic (especially for that time in the morning) and really friendly. There were plenty placed over the course and stationed in key positions on the course.

I did expect some sort of warm-up at the beginning especially considering the time of morning to ensure everybody was awake and ready for the run. It also would have bene helpful to have an area for those who were planning on walking the route behind the runners. There was a large group of walkers near the front of the start area who walked in a fairly straight line right at the beginning, it was difficult to get around them and a lot of runners were having to dodge each other as they tried to get around them.

There were also some fairly narrow paths/turns fairly early on. The worst pile up was as we turned to get onto the canal path by the pub. There were quite a few near misses as you come around the corner fairly wide only to be faced with running into a bush or another runner. I’m not quite sure how that could be avoided, maybe taking the route a bit more into the car park. With so many runners it could be a bit of a hazard. Perhaps some signs for next year stating narrow turn etc, would be helpful.

Overall a really friendly and well organised event. I cannot praise the marshals enough, I can’t imagine what time they had to be up this morning but they were very cheery and supportive.

Events like this really bring out the best in people and it is a great way to explore the city with minimal traffic. The comradery amongst the runners was brilliant. It isn’t easy getting up and running at 5:30 in the morning, especially up those last two hills. The runners were all encouraging each other to make it up that last little bit before the home stretch.

I highly recommend this event to all. It is a lot of fun, and such a nice way to explore the city (especially canal area) safely in the morning.